


The Flora and the Fauna

by summerdownturn



Series: How to Train Your Dragon [1]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: College AU, Dragon!Josh, Fluff, Human!Tyler, M/M, Siren!Jenna, Supernatural Elements, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 18:05:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4272900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerdownturn/pseuds/summerdownturn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler just wants to study his for his biology final but Jenna decides to drag him to a coffee shop instead. Tyler can't complain though, because he ends up crushing on the totally hot barista who, Tyler finds out, isn't quite human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Flora and the Fauna

**Author's Note:**

> Or the one where I get inspired by a prompt on Tumblr and end up making a series around it.  
> First tøp fic and also first time publishing anything since my time on livejournal, but I'm quite proud of this one.

Tyler Joseph wasn’t the most observant person on the planet. He was rather gullible and clumsy, despite a love for climbing and basketball, and he was rather good with people despite his social anxieties. Tyler also cared about people deeply with such selflessness, that his mother wasn’t surprised when he used his basketball scholarship to pursue a medical degree at Ohio State. He was currently in his second year of pre-med and lived in a dorm with his best friend since childhood, Jenna. Despite the rough nature of his mental health the last few years, college kept him busy from introspecting too much, and he couldn’t complain that his life was pretty great at the moment.

Tyler didn’t think his life could get better, until he met the hot barista at the small coffee shop Jenna dragged him to one evening.

“C’mon Ty. You need a break. Between basketball and studying you’re wearing yourself thin. It’s just one little coffee break.” She was giving him pleading eyes and Tyler let out a deep sigh before he tried to reply, but Jenna beat him to it. “One coffee break isn’t going to kill your GPA, Tyler Joseph,” her voice turned stern and her eyes held a slight mischievous glint, “Or am I going to have to thrall your ass all the way there myself?” Jenna had a smirk that made Tyler’s eyes go wide, and her threat made his palms sweaty from remembering the last time he was thralled by her call. Tyler knew better than to test Jenna or else he’d end up in a compromising position, _again_.

Tyler sighed in defeat and closed his textbook. “Fine. But just _one_ coffee, Jenna. Please?” Tyler scowled as she ruffled his hair and pulled him up by the arm, interlocking it in hers and leading them to the door.

“No worries. Just some coffee and a chat. And when we get home you’re taking a shower, Ty. Jeez, when was the last time you showered?”

Tyler threw his head back and yelled desperately, “It’s _finals_ , Jenna! There’s no time for hygiene!”

Jenna berated him for his lack of self-care all the way to the coffee shop five blocks down from their dorm. (Tyler totally complained about it being so far away when there literally was a Starbucks right next door. _“You can’t get the same atmosphere at a Starbucks, Tyler. Have some sense of culture.”_ Tyler may have said something under his breath before tripping on the concrete after Jenna reminded him of that time she thralled him into the pool during a college party. Naked. He never would live that down.)

Okay, so maybe getting some fresh air was a good thing. And maybe relaxing wasn’t so bad. The coffee shop was calm with students that were strewn about over couches and comfy looking chairs. The lighting was low and calming music was softly playing over the speakers. Tyler instantly regretted mentioning going to Starbucks as soon as he walked through the door, but there was no way he’d tell Jenna that.

They walked up to place their orders when Tyler froze, a blush already dusting his cheeks and he thanked Jenna internally for pulling him out of the dorm or else he wouldn’t have seen the wonderful specimen that was the barista. His hair was styled in a faded red mohawk that tuffed beautifully onto his forehead. The second thing Tyler noticed was his smile. _That smile_. Tyler was already helplessly in love with that smile and the way it made his nose and eyes crinkle and was all white pointy teeth. _And oh, his eyes_. Beautiful chocolate eyes that reminded Tyler of a puppy, as did the way his head tilted at Tyler in amusement. _Oh god, how long has he been staring at me? How long have I been staring at him? Oh jeez, is that a nose ring?_

“What?” Tyler managed to choke out after Jenna elbowed him.

Insanely Hot Barista chuckled, “What can I get you?”

“Um,” Tyler looked at Jenna helplessly. Wait, was she laughing at him? Maybe he just should’ve stayed home to prevent this embarrassment.

Jenna put her hand on his shoulder as she ordered for him. “My lovely friend Tyler here would love a venti nonfat caramel macchiato, please.” Insanely Hot Barista nodded, shooting Tyler a grin as he began to write on his cup.

“Uh, extra caramel… please.” Tyler muttered as he took out his wallet, his face feeling like it was on fire. He really hoped that his blush wasn’t that notable in the dim lighting. Insanely Hot Barista nodded again and put their cups aside but shook his head when Tyler tried to give him money.

“No worries, princess. It’s on the house.” Insanely Hot Barista’s grin was between flirty and self-satisfied. Tyler was sure his blush was showing now as his face heated up even more at the nickname. Jenna let out a laugh next to him.

“W-well, excuse me-“ Tyler looked down to his name tag which read, “ _Josh_. Just because my drink sounds girly doesn’t mean I appreciate being called names. I just happen to like caffeine and… and a lot of sugar.” His voice started out strong but kinda ended up tapering off as Insanely Hot Bar— _Josh_ —continued to smile at him and Tyler ended up having to look at his feet out of embarrassment.

When Tyler lifted his head, Josh was writing something else on his cup. “Sorry, dude. Is this gunna be for here or?” Josh saved him some humiliation by glancing at Jenna who told him they were going to sit down. “Alright. I’ll bring your drinks as soon as they’re ready.” Jenna thanked him while Tyler did so quietly before she led him to two comfy chairs sat around a coffee table.

Tyler immediately fell into the chair, rubbed at his face, and groaned, “I hate you so much, Jenna.”

Tyler looked at her smirk through his fingers. “Tell me that when he gives you your drink with his number on it.” Tyler let out another groan and tried to burry himself in his hoodie. Jenna thankfully changed the subject and they spent the next few minutes talking about Tyler’s biology final that he was not looking forward to.

They were interrupted by Josh putting their drinks down on the table. “Just let me know if you guys need anything else, okay?” Josh said, leaning down probably too far into Tyler’s space to put his cup down. He smiled politely at Jenna before turning and grinning at Tyler, and Tyler must have needed to get his eyes checked because he could swear he could see Josh blushing in the dim lighting.

Tyler cleared his throat before he even tried to speak. “Thanks, man.” He smiled as he took his cup and carefully sipped from it. Josh flashed him another smile before turning and walking away. If Tyler stared at his ass, well, that was only for Tyler to know.

“I told you.” Tyler turned towards Jenna and shot a confused look at her. She pointed at his cup and Tyler turned it around to inspect it. Written in Sharpie was Tyler’s name, followed by a heart and a ten-digit number. Tyler tried to hide his smile but it was impossible. 

“I still hate you, Jenna.”

* * *

 

The next week, Tyler may have changed up his study habits a little bit. And by “a little bit”, Tyler was now going to the coffee shop five blocks down from his dorm, his books and laptop tucked safely in his backpack, and he tried to study instead of staring at Josh’s ass while Josh served him his coffee (which was really difficult).

Josh’s number was safely tucked away in Tyler’s phone’s contacts, and Tyler had texted Josh to make sure he had his number after Tyler had gotten home and took a shower that night. They texted back and forth for a while, but it was finals week so they sadly had to cut their conversations short.

Tyler pretty much went to the coffee shop every day in the evening after his classes, although he would never tell Jenna this, and he found it oddly relaxing sitting in a beat up chair in the corner taking notes about mitosis from his textbook for the hundredth time. Josh had started to take his breaks while Tyler was there so they could talk, and he wasn’t even bothered that his study time was being interrupted.

“Refill?” Josh asked, hand posed out to take Tyler’s cup. Tyler nodded, saying a soft please and thank you before turning back to his notes. Josh’s break was soon and he wanted to finish the next paragraph. Josh came back a few minutes later with his drink and an applesauce cup. He ate his applesauce in silence until Tyler sighed and closed his textbook.

“I hate biology,” Tyler stated, trading his book for the cup of coffee on the table, double caramel just like he likes it. Tyler has been insisting to pay for his drinks, but Josh had just refused and told him he could start paying for them after finals. Tyler reluctantly agreed. Josh had also stuck to calling him “princess” just to annoy the stressed med student, especially after catching sight of his floral Vans and backpack. Tyler really should not encourage him by blushing and telling him that floral patterns are _sick_ , but he kinda likes it.

“Me too. You have Pearson right? I heard she’s really uptight,” Josh commented, finishing the last of his applesauce and relaxing back in the chair next to Tyler’s.

“She’s the worst,” Tyler groaned, running his hand over his notebooks and whining, “So many notes.”

“Good thing finals are almost over. I don’t think I could stand to learn about the nervous system one more time.”

“Nervous system?” Tyler looked over at the redhead. “Are you a med student, too?”

Josh looked up from where he was playing with the tin on his cup. “Hm? Oh, kinda? Veterinary medicine at least,” He shrugged. “Still have to take all the fun science and math classes. I’m so not looking forward to biochemistry next semester.”

“I didn’t know you were studying to be a vet.” Tyler thought his heart just melted a little bit at the image of Josh in scrubs looking over a tiny animal. Over the course of a week, Tyler had learned many things about Josh. Like how he played the drums. Or how he lived in an apartment and worked two jobs just so he can live with his cat (they had a whole discussion on how the college should allow pets in the dorms. _Don’t they know that pets decrease stress and anxiety? It would be so beneficial_ ) _._ Or how he was not that confident besides when he flirts with Tyler, and even his confidence seemed forced. Or how he always smelled faintly of smoke, which Tyler had lectured him about countless times already. Smoking was not cool.

“Well I have to maintain my mysterious persona somehow,” Josh smiled and poked at his arm. “I have a reputation to uphold.” He tried, and failed, to look dark and mysterious before smiling and shrugging again. “And a vet technician. At least, for now.”

“I know, you try so hard with the dyed hair and the piercings, but you’re really just a giant puppy, Joshua. You’re not fooling me.” Tyler poked Josh back.

“Shoot. You got me,” he laughed, and Tyler swore that he falls more in love with this boy every passing moment. “So,” Josh started, and Tyler thought he looked a little nervous. “What are you doing for break?”

Tyler was a little taken aback. Break? Oh yeah, winter break was a thing that Tyler had forgotten in the midst of studying for finals. “I… I actually have no idea. I mean, I have basketball of course, we always have extra practices on break, but other than that I have no clue.”

“Oh.” Josh said and looked down at his hands that he was wringing together. “Well, if you have the time, you could, like, come over to my place and hang out?” Josh posed it as a question, like he wasn’t quite sure of himself, and Tyler couldn’t believe that this was the same guy who almost flirted him to death a week ago. When Josh looked up, Tyler realized he had spent way too long looking at the worry lines on Josh’s brow, and that it may be time to give him an answer.

“Oh, um. I would really like that.” Tyler could feel his face flush, and he felt comforted as he saw a tinge of pink on Josh’s face as well. Then Josh gave him his smile, all teeth and squinted eyes, and if Tyler’s heart weren’t already melted, it probably would be seeping throughout his chest cavity by now.

Yup. Tyler Joseph was definitely helplessly in love with Joshua Dun.

* * *

 

Tyler was so very thankful for Josh as he served him cup after cup of too sweet coffee until closing time the night before his biology final. Tyler was stressing and the only way he knew how to deal with it healthily was to shove his head further into his textbook.

He got back to his dorm at one in the morning, triple checked the fifteen alarms on his phone to make sure they were all on and loud, and then crashed into bed. Tyler woke up after the third alarm, and quickly made his way to class. He would not be late, even if that meant getting to class a half hour early.

Two hours later, Tyler was done with his final and walked through the coffee shop door. His shoulders instantly dropped in relief as he saw Josh wiping down the counter, and he smiled as he made his way over.

“Hey.”

“Hey, princess, how’d it go?” Josh smirked, turning back to the counter to grab a cup and hand it to Tyler. “I’d figure you’d stop by after,” he shrugged.

Tyler shot Josh a glare before slowly cracking a smile and taking his drink. “Fine. I think. I can’t really remember any of it, but I think it went well.” Josh nodded and took a seat, so Tyler did the same.

“So, I was wondering,” Josh tucked his hands between his knees and his tone was uneasy. He paused and looked at the table, unsure of how he was going to ask.

“What?” Tyler was suddenly tense again. He didn’t like Josh nervous, although the last time Josh was nervous was to ask him to hang out over break. So maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.

“I was wondering,” Josh took a deep breath and looked up at him, “since finals are over. Would you maybe go on a date with me? I mean, if it’s cool. If not then I guess just forget I asked and-”

“Yes,” Tyler interrupted, his chest full of bubbles and his stomach full of butterflies. Josh just asked him out on a date and he felt like he was about to float to the ceiling.

“What?” Josh looked at him stupidly.

“Of course I will go on a date with you, Josh.” Tyler’s smile probably took up half of his face but he didn’t care. He was going on a date with Josh. Josh liked him. Josh _liked_ him. He wanted to scream it from the tops of buildings. Man, Josh turned him into such a romantic.

“Oh,” Josh looked surprised, and then relieved as his smile— _that smile_ —took up half his face as well. And they were probably just sitting there staring at each other smiling like idiots for a good minute before Josh started again. “That’s cool. That’s really cool. Um, I’m free tomorrow night, if that’s alright?”

“Tomorrow night sounds good,” Tyler nodded, willing his face to do anything but smile. He had to look away and run a hand over his mouth before he could calm himself down enough to make sure his face wasn’t stuck smiling. That would be embarrassing.

“Alright. I’ll pick you up at seven then?”

Shit. Tyler’s smile was back at full force. “Seven is great.”

* * *

 

Shit. What was he thinking agreeing to a date with Josh? What would he wear? What would they do? Would they go out to eat? Would they go to a nice restaurant or something like Taco Bell? Tyler knew Josh lived off of Taco Bell. What if he spilled his food or drink all over himself? _What if he spilled it all over Josh?_ Oh no. This wasn’t good.

“Calm down, Ty. I can hear you freaking out from down the hallway,” Jenna announced as she walked in the door from her last class of the day. Tyler doesn’t know if sirens even have enhanced hearing, but that was not the worst of his problems right now 

“Jenna, help me please. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I know. Which is why you’re going to shower and I’m going to pick out something for you to wear,” Jenna said as she ushered him to the bathroom and slammed the door in his face.

“I love you, Jenna!”

Twenty minutes later (Tyler may have gotten a little distracted in the shower), Jenna was forcing him into black skinny jeans and a floral patterned button up. He was about to put on some cologne when Jenna slapped his hand away.

“No, I do not trust you to put that on by yourself,” she muttered as she took the bottle and sprayed it on for him, far much less than he would’ve used. Did he mention how much he loved Jenna?

He was pulling on his floral Vans when his phone buzzed on the table. He quickly peaked at the lock screen to see that it was Josh saying he would be over in twenty minutes. Tyler quickly replied: _that’s cool. im ready whenever :)_ , trying to feign nonchalance when in reality he had checked his hair five times since he had gotten Jenna to do it for him, since she didn’t trust him with hair product, either. It was for the best, Tyler quickly realized.

Another twenty minutes of Jenna trying to calm Tyler down ( _I just really like him and I don’t wanna mess this up, Jen_ ), there was a knock on the door. Tyler’s eyes practically bugged out of his head and he frantically looked from the door to Jenna repeatedly, but Jenna just put her hand on his shoulders and tried to focus his attention on her.

“It will be _fine_ , Ty. You’re both gigantic dorks so I’m sure that he will forgive you if you mess up,” Tyler’s eyes somehow got impossibly bigger, “Not saying that you will!” She corrected herself, “Just be you, Ty. That’s why he asked you out in the first place.” Jenna was giving him a reassuringly gentle smile as she squeezed his shoulders before leading him to the door.

Tyler took one deep breath and exhaled before he swung the door open. Josh was standing there with his hands in his pockets, snapback on backwards, and a anxious smile on his face.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Should we, uh?” Josh pointed down the hall and Tyler nodded his head a little too quickly. For all he knew Jenna was plotting to give him “the speech”. But before Tyler could walk out the door, Jenna was pulling him back.

“Hi, Josh. Lovely to see you again,” Jenna said in a sickeningly sweet voice that was threateningly closed to her thralling tone. Josh froze to his spot and stared at her dumbly. Tyler threw back his head and groaned. He hadn’t been fast enough. “Y’know, me and Ty have been best friends since kindergarten. And he is my _best friend_. Practically my brother. And I’m very protective of my family, Josh.” Jenna’s tone went a little dark. “Did he mention that I’m a siren? Let’s just say that if you hurt him in any way possible,” Tyler felt a shiver go up his spine and he couldn’t imagine how Josh was feeling, “I won’t hesitate to thrall you to the bottom of a lake.”

Josh rubbed his palms against his thighs and nodded dumbly. Tyler dared to look over at Jenna and he swore he has never seen her look so stern. Tyler cleared his throat as her eyes flashed for a second, a golden color that appeared when she sang, but they quickly returned to normal and she relaxed into a smile.

“Alright, have fun, Ty.” She turned towards Tyler and patted his shoulder before shoving him and his coat out the door, calling out, “It’s good to see you, Josh.” She then shut the door behind them.

Tyler laughed nervously as he did a pat down of his pockets to make sure he had his keys, phone, and wallet, which he did, and gestured for them to walk down the hallway. He put his coat on as they walked.

“You, um, didn’t tell me your roommate was a siren.” Josh’s voice was soft as he shoved his hands back in his pockets, and Tyler was internally cursing Jenna.

Tyler shrugged. “Well, you’ve only met her once before, and it’s not really a big deal. She’s harmless, really.” A white lie wouldn’t hurt to assure Josh of his safety. Josh just looked at him incredulously, and Tyler added, “She’d still be as scary even if she wasn’t a siren, to be honest.”

“Yeah.” Josh shook himself out of his stupor and chuckled, bumping into Tyler. “Excited?”

Tyler stumbled before leaning back into Josh, smiling at the familiar scent of smoke and vanilla. “Yeah. Nervous mostly. I haven’t been on a date in forever. I wanna blame being busy with school and basketball instead of my anxious personality.”

“Well I like to think our anxious personalities cancel each other out.”

Tyler smiled. “Yeah. Or they make up one huge ball of anxiousness and double the anxiety.”

“Or there’s so much anxiety being produced that the ball of anxiousness manifests itself and becomes a superhero.”

“Or a super villain.”

“Yeah. Or we’re the superheroes with the ability to panic over absolutely nothing and fantasize the worst possible outcomes in our head.”

They discussed their anxiety superpowers all the way to Josh’s car, which was surprisingly in good shape compared to Tyler’s car, where the majority of the gauges on the dash didn’t work, along with the option of hot air, or very hot air blowing out of the A/C unit. Tyler was jealous of Josh’s working fuel gauge. Tyler had to learn how to count how many miles his car could drive on a full tank before it needed to be refilled.

Tyler was half expecting Josh’s car to be filled with Taco Bell wrappers, but was satisfied to find out it was pleasantly clean on the inside.

“So, can I ask where we’re going?” Tyler said a few minutes later after they left the dorm and Josh was fumbling with the radio.

He glanced at Tyler and smiled, finally picking a station. “Well you can ask, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you.”

Tyler snorted and looked at the window, his hands drumming a beat on his thighs. A few beats of silence went by before he couldn’t take it. “So, where are we going?” Tyler looked towards Josh, who pulled up to a red light and turned his head towards Tyler.

He grinned, “Telling you would be no fun.” Josh laughed at Tyler’s resulting groan, and Tyler’s stomach flooded with anxiety and adoration. “We’ll be there in a few minutes. It’s not that far.”

Tyler sighed, accepting his fate. “Well at least it’s not Taco Bell,” he murmured, knowing that the nearest Taco Bell was in the other direction.

“I didn’t say we _weren’t_ going to Taco Bell,” Josh explained, and _really?,_ Tyler thought, of course they would be stopping by Taco Bell. “We just have a stop somewhere else first.” Josh flashed him a quick grin and patted his thigh quickly before driving through the now green light.

Tyler’s heart fluttered in his chest at the touch, and he had to quickly look out the window to avoid Josh from seeing his ridiculous smile.

Five minutes later, they pulled into a nearly empty parking lot of a small building. Tyler looked out the window to try and see a sign, but the only identification the building had was on the door too far away to read.

“We’re here.” Josh announced, taking the key out of the ignition and quickly got out of the car. Tyler followed, and he looked over to Josh pouting at him from across the hood. Tyler’s heart flipped when he realized Josh wanted to open his door for him, of course he did, because Josh was a gentleman. Tyler decided he would let him get it next time.

Josh then waved him over to the entrance, and as Tyler got closer, he noticed the animal decals that patterned the door and windows. He felt his face lift up into a smile as he walked towards Josh.

“You brought me to the animal shelter?” Tyler asked, allowing Josh to open the door for him. He heard Josh try to start a sentence behind him, Josh’s nerves returning.

“Y-yeah. I, uh, work here part time. Y’know, for experience. It closes to the public at seven, and I’d thought it would be cool for us to play with some of the animals I work with.” Tyler glanced back at Josh to see his hands shoved in his pockets as he looked nervously around the lobby of the shelter.

“Dude, that’s awesome!” Tyler exclaimed, hopping over to Josh a little too excitedly, taking the other by surprise.

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah, totally.” Tyler led Josh further into the building, looking around and down the hallway to see if he could spot any animals from there. “Do you have kittens?” Tyler looked to Josh with a hopeful look, and it was nice to see Josh relaxing back into a smile.

“Yeah. They’re two months old. Hayley allows us to come in after hours and play with the animals so they get some time out of their cages.” Tyler followed as Josh led him down the hallway.

“That’s so cool,” Tyler said under his breath, excited to play with the kittens. A few steps later they were peaking into a room with the walls lined full of cages, and a red haired woman filling food dishes. Josh opened the door and she turned around.

“Oh, hey Josh! Who’s this?” She smiled at Tyler politely, but Tyler was a little distracted by the small ball of black fur in the cage behind her.

“This is Tyler. I brought him to meet the litter,” He laughed quietly as he glanced over to see Tyler’s expression melt into a cute pout.

Tyler startled when Hayley asked, “Do you wanna hold her?” Tyler eagerly nodded and tried to stay as calm as possible as Hayley opened the door to get the kitten out. Josh walked over to make sure the door to the room was closed before heading over to another cage to take out a kitten of his own. Tyler was too busy making cute faces at the tiny fluff ball that he now held in his arms.

Tyler slowly sat down on the floor so he could put her in his lap to pet her, and when he did she let out the tiniest meow. Tyler laughed as he let out an involuntary “ _Awww”_ as he looked up to Josh who was coming towards them with two kittens of his own.

Tyler was giggling at the kitten that was playing with the strings on his jacket when Josh sat down. The kittens in Josh’s lap slowly made their way over to Tyler, and Tyler laughed as he now had three kittens climbing and biting him playfully.

“They seem to really like you,” Josh chuckled as Tyler swayed a loose string on his jacket above the scrambling kittens.

“Yeah, well, I really seem to like you.” Tyler felt his throat close up as he realized what he had said. He chanced a glance at Josh, but Josh was just smiling at him fondly before he took a kitten from Tyler’s lap. Tyler smiled shyly back, his face starting to warm up, before he startled from a voice coming from the other end of the room.

“Aww, guys. I just have to take a picture,” Hayley commented, and Tyler completely forgot she was still in the room. Josh scooted closer to Tyler on the floor as Hayley got out her phone. They leaned in together and held up their kittens as Hayley took the photo. “Perfect.” She commented, before going into an adjoining room.

They were still leaning in close when Josh turned to face Tyler. Tyler felt his heart skip a beat as he studied Josh’s face. He was close enough to smell the faint scent of smoke again and Tyler wondered if it would be rude to berate him for smoking on their first date. Tyler’s thoughts were cut short when Josh spoke softly, “Y’know, I would kiss you right now if we weren’t surrounded by a hoard of innocent kittens.” Tyler smiled as Josh’s face flushed pink.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want to ruin their innocence,” Tyler said, equally as soft. Josh then held up his kitten at face level, and Tyler kissed the kitten on its nose as it sniffed at him, but then leaned over and kissed Josh on the cheek as well.

He pulled back, only to be interrupted by Hayley entering the room again. The way Josh was looking at him was making his stomach do acrobatics, but in the best way possible.

“Here, I got some toys for you guys,” Hayley said, dropping feathered and crinkly toys down at their feet. The hoard of kittens, as Josh had called them, charged, skidding across the tile to get to the toys. The boys laughed and Hayley grabbed the rest of the litter from their cages to set them on the floor with their siblings.

They played with the kittens for what seemed like hours, the kittens never seeming to lose their energy. But they had other plans, so Josh had to drag a reluctant Tyler away from all the kittens he now wanted to adopt. Maybe he could sneak them into his dorm in his coat pockets. Jenna probably wouldn’t mind living with ten cats, he reasoned. Josh had to promise Tyler he would bring him back to play with the kittens and the other animals again before Tyler even considered leaving.

“That was awesome, Josh,” Tyler exclaimed as they made their way back to the car. “That was the cutest experience of my life.”

Josh smiled as they got into the car and he turned on the ignition. “Well, I’m glad. I had fun, too. But that’s not all that I had planned.” Josh shot him a grin and Tyler blanked before remembering.

“Taco Bell?”

Josh nodded, “Taco Bell.”

* * *

 

They went through the Taco Bell drive-thru, because Josh had plans for them even after tacos.

“Can’t I eat one now?” Tyler whined, looking down at the box of tacos in his lap. They were driving somewhere else to eat their tacos, even though Tyler was perfectly fine eating them at Taco Bell. They didn’t even have to go inside, they could’ve just eaten them in the parking lot. He wasn’t picky.

But Josh had said that there was something he wanted to show Tyler. They were there in less than five minutes, but that didn’t mean Tyler couldn’t complain. Tyler noticed they were in the local park’s empty parking lot. It was dark and in the middle of November, so of course no one was there. Josh shot Tyler a smile before getting out of the car. Tyler followed Josh out back to the trunk of the car, where Josh took out a blanket and some binoculars.

Josh closed the trunk with a _thunk_ , and Tyler asked, “Are we having a picnic?”

Josh shrugged. “Something like that.” He patted the top of the trunk. “Hop on.”

“What?”

“Sit on the trunk, Tyler.” Josh laughed, patting the car again.

Tyler shot Josh a look of skepticism before putting the tacos down and obeying. Josh hopped up next to him and crossed his legs, spreading the blanket across both of their laps. It was cold, but so far it had been a pretty warm winter for Ohio.

“Can we eat our tacos now?” Tyler dared to ask, but Josh just nodded and reached for the box.

They ate their first tacos in silence, Josh scanning the sky for something as they ate. Tyler just stared at Josh’s face, mesmerized by his searching gaze. Tyler started his second taco before he decided to say something.

“What are you looking for?”

Josh didn’t answer right away. He balled up his taco wrapper and threw it back in the box before holding the binoculars up and looking through them. Josh nodded and held them out to Tyler with a smile.

Tyler took them with a confused expression on his face, but Josh just smiled and pointed to the dark sky. “That’s Ursa Major.” He moved his finger a little, “It points to Polaris, or the North Star, the handle of Ursa Minor.” Josh looked back at Tyler, still pointing to the sky, scooting closer so Tyler could see where he was pointing exactly. Tyler blushed, feeling Josh slide closer to him, but he looked down Josh’s finger.

“See?”

Tyler looked where his finger landed, pointed at a bright star. “Huh. I’ve never actually looked for that,” he commented. Josh smiled, biting his lip before moving his finger to the side.

“That would be where Draco is, my favorite constellation, if we weren’t in the suburbs. It’s a little too bright for that,” he said softly, like he wasn’t trying to disturb the dragon he was pointing to. Tyler realized just how many stars were out when Josh moved his hand down to point at another. The sky was clear and the moon was hardly noticeable, just a sliver in the sky. Tyler doesn’t think he has ever seen this many stars near the city, but then again, Tyler usually wasn’t one to look up and notice such things.

“And that’s the Andromeda galaxy. Well, where it is roughly. You can kinda see it through the binoculars, but it’s really faint.” Tyler pointed the binoculars where Josh showed him, and it took him a few minutes to find the faint fuzzy dot.

“That’s a galaxy?” Tyler said breathlessly. Josh hummed beside him, and Tyler realized just how close they were. He put down the binoculars and met Josh’s eyes. “How do you know all this?” They were far too close to speak in anything other than a hushed voice.

“It’s a hobby of mine. I’m a space nerd,” Josh shrugged, and Tyler’s heart starting beating out of his chest when he saw Josh smirk and look down at his lips. 

Tyler cleared his throat. “Y’know we’ve escaped the hoard of kittens. It’s perfectly safe to kiss me now, if you want.” Josh breathed out a laugh before leaning forward and connecting their lips. Tyler felt his heart stop and electricity run down his spine, and Josh’s hand burned where it curled itself around the back of Tyler’s neck. Josh pulled back a moment later and Tyler shook his head.

“No. No, you can keep going,” He said eagerly, leaning forward to meet Josh’s lips again. Tyler smiled into the kiss, which didn’t make it that great of a kiss, but he couldn’t help it. Josh smelled like tacos and smoke, which was weird, but _nice_. Because it was _Josh_. Tyler giggled when they broke apart. “Sorry.”

Josh had a hard time controlling his smile as well. “It’s alright. C’mon, we need to finish these tacos.”

They talked about music as they ate, Tyler asking Josh what he liked to play on his drums, and Josh asking Tyler if he played any instruments.

“Yeah, I totally shred on the ukulele and piano,” Tyler said seriously, and Josh laughed at him. “What? I could totally take you down, dude. You’d be surprised by how much of a work out the ukulele is. And if I need a little help I could just smash it over your head.” Josh and Tyler ended up laughing at that mental image. They agreed that it would probably just bounce off of Josh’s head. 

They finished the tacos quickly enough, and Tyler checked his phone to see that it was almost eleven.

“We could head back if you want,” Josh suggested, but Tyler just burrowed deep into his side, curling around Josh’s unnaturally high body heat.

“Or we could stay like this for a few more minutes,” Tyler mumbled into his jacket and he felt Josh bring his arm around Tyler’s shoulders. Tyler inhaled Josh’s scent from his coat and the blanket that they’re huddle under. It was familiar by now, but Tyler still can’t help but lecture Josh.

“You really shouldn’t smoke, Josh. It’s terrible for your health, and lung cancer is the fifth-”

“I don’t actually smoke, Ty,” Josh interrupted quickly, looking far too embarrassed for admitting to not smoking.

“Oh,” Tyler blanked. “Does you’re roommate?” Tyler couldn’t remember if Josh had told him if he lived alone or not.

“I, uh, don’t have a roommate actually.”

“So then, why…” Tyler trailed off, not sure if he should push any further. Josh looked away, biting his lip.

“It’s kinda complicated?” Josh’s voice was uncertain. “Or, not really that complicated.” He paused, unsure if he should explain or not.

Tyler stepped in. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I was just concerned for your health.” Josh pulled away from Tyler and Tyler frowned. He shouldn’t have brought it up.

“No, no. I wanna tell you. I don’t want to keep such a big secret from you if we’re going to be dating. Or, or just friends.” Josh quickly added on that last bit. Tyler smiled and took Josh’s hand in his. Josh let out a deep breath. “I’m a… a fauna,” Josh whispered, looking at Tyler for his reaction.

“Oh. Oh, like an animal/human hybrid right?” Tyler asked, remembering what little he had learned about fauna that they taught in supernatural class in school. Josh nodded.

“Hybrid. Fauna. Same thing really. Fauna just sounds more… supernatural. I’m a dragon, so that’s why I always smell like smoke.” Josh shrugged before looking away again.

Tyler let out a little snicker, and Josh whipped his head back. “I’m sorry,” he said as seriously as he could with a smile. “A dragon? Are dragons even real?”

“Well sirens are real. Werewolves, vampires, selkies, banshees, witches, and mermaids even! All these supernatural beings and dragons can’t be real?” Josh’s voice rose and Tyler immediately felt bad because it was something that Josh was obviously insecure about. He shrunk in on himself.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I guess I’m just sheltered from other supernatural life. I shouldn’t make that assumption. Jenna’s really the only nonhuman I’ve ever befriended.” They were quiet for a long time. Both Tyler and Josh stared at Josh’s hands as he wrung them together. “That’s cool, though, for sharing that with me. I appreciate it. I don’t care if you’re part dragon, or a merman, or a fairy. You could be part Chihuahua for all I care.” Josh let out a laugh and Tyler leaned back against him. “Now that I think about it, you smell more like a bonfire more than tobacco smoke. It reminds me of summer.”

Josh looked at Tyler with soft eyes. “Thanks,” he mumbled as he pressed a kiss to Tyler’s head. Tyler smiled at the affection.

“Can I ask why you hide it?”

Josh just sighed and shrugged. “It’s a lot easier to find and maintain a job when you’re not knocking over customers’ orders with your wings.”

“Wings?!” Tyler exclaimed, turning Josh to look at his back like he expected them to rip out of his jacket. Josh just laughed and turned around.

“Duh. What’s a dragon without wings?”

“Well, aren’t there dragons without wings?”

“Yeah, but those are the lame dragons.”

Tyler snorted. “Of course. You’re the coolest of dragons, Josh.”

Josh smiled wide and he playfully bumped into Tyler. “You know it.”

“So what do you have besides wings? A tail?” Tyler asked, studying Josh’s face as if he might sprout scales, but Josh just nodded and stared into space, completely ignoring Tyler’s excitement over his tail.

Josh hummed, thinking. “Uh, a high body temperature. Sharp canines,” He playfully bit the air in front of Tyler’s nose and laughed. “My nails and horns can grow pretty long if I don’t maintain them.”

“Horns?” Tyler looked up at Josh’s head, moving his head side to side trying to see, but Josh just pulled up his hat and bangs to reveal two little horns emerging from his hairline.

“They’re so cute,” Tyler marveled, moving to touch one. “Like little baby goat horns.” Josh laughed again, amused by Tyler’s reactions.

“I have to keep them filed down or else I can’t wear my hats. It also becomes a problem walking through doorways. My brother keeps his long and all of the doors at my parents’ house are marked up from where they collide.” Josh laughed at the memory of him and Jordan running throughout his parents’ house last Christmas, and Jordan braining himself on the doorframe.

“So your whole family are dragons, too?” Tyler pulled his hand away from Josh’s forehead and Josh put his snapback back on.

“Most of us, yeah. There are some humans and some reptile fauna mixed in as well. It can get pretty hectic on holidays. 

Tyler chuckled, “I can imagine.”

They sat in silence as Tyler tried to come up with more questions, but he was at a loss, so he just cuddled into Josh’s side instead.

“We should probably head back. I don’t want to wind up at the bottom of a lake if I keep you past your curfew,” Josh mumbled into the top of Tyler’s head where his chin rested.

Tyler groaned. “Fine.”

* * *

 

They held hands and sang to the radio on the drive back to Tyler’s dorm, Josh tapping out the beats on the steering wheel. When Josh pulled in to the parking lot, Tyler was reluctant to leave.

“I had such a great time, Josh, thank you.” Tyler smiled and leaned across the console to give Josh a kiss.

“Mm, anytime, princess,” Josh said against his lips. Tyler pulled back to give him a halfhearted glare before surging forward into another kiss, this time more passionate. Josh’s hand came up to rest on the back of Tyler’s head, making sure he wasn’t going anywhere.

Tyler broke away after what seemed like hours, panting. “I would invite you up, but I don’t think that would leave a good impression on Jenna.” Josh huffed out a laugh, running his hand through Tyler’s hair that he had messed up. 

“Maybe next time.” They smiled fondly at each other for a moment before Tyler broke the silence.

“I’ll see you later, Josh,” he said as he got out of Josh’s car.

“Yeah, I’ll text you.” Josh waved as Tyler shut the door with a smile and he tried not to skip his way inside the dorm building. His brain was a mess of thoughts as he dumbly smiled at his reflection in the elevator. 

Josh _liked_ him. Josh _kissed_ him. Josh wanted to _date_ him. Josh was a _dragon_.

And Tyler was still helplessly falling in love with Josh.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos or comments if you want to read the other parts! I have the outlines for three more parts, but I need encouragement to complete them since I haven't written fic since my livejournal days (so, so long ago.)


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